


Extended Family

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Established Relationship, Futurefic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-01-09
Updated: 2003-01-09
Packaged: 2017-11-01 05:49:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/352712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark and Lex are together, but Lana needs Clark to marry her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Extended Family

## Extended Family

by TMar

<http://tmar.za.net/slash/>

* * *

Disclaimer:  
The following is written for the private entertainment of fans. No infringement of any copyrights held by anybody is intended. This story is not for profit. The author makes no claims on the Smallville characters or their portrayal by the creation of this story. So there. ;) 

Author's Notes:  
1\. This is really a long, rambling, happily-ever-after type story. It could be considered AU, because it branches off from the end of the first season (they have not started showing the second season in this country yet) and I have no idea what happens in season two. 

2\. There is a scene of hetsmut in the story, but the focus of the story is on Lex and Clark, never fear. 

3\. The thing with the cape was inspired by a publicity picture for "Lois and Clark" showing Superman and Lois all wrapped up in his cape. Sorry. :) 

4\. This story has not been beta-read; however, it has been proofread, edited, re-read and spell-checked (and I let the spell-checker change all my British spellings to American ones). Any strange punctuation choices in the story are there on purpose. :) 

5\. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

* * *

**EXTENDED FAMILY**  
By T'Mar 

Clark was finishing a paper that was due the next day. Usually he got an early start on his projects, but this one had been postponed because of Lex. Clark grinned suddenly to himself. Lex and he had done things in the last two weeks that Clark hadn't even known were possible. He'd learnt such a lot, about himself and about Lex as well. He wished he could go over to Lex's every day and lie there in bed with him, just soaking up the feeling of having someone. Of having a person who wanted you just for yourself, who liked you for you, and had fallen in love with you the same way. 

Clark knew Lex had the same thoughts he did. He had fallen for Lex in the worst way, and when he'd told him that, Lex had gotten a look on his face that Clark had never seen before. It had been a look of acceptance and love and relief that someone cared. They had made love right there in the loft after that confession, and Clark had never been so happy in his life. 

He was still smiling about that when he looked up to find Lana standing there looking... well, freaked. She had looked depressed for a long time after Whitney had left, and then when they'd heard about the training accident... Clark stood up. "Lana, what's wrong?" 

"Clark, I really need to trust you right now." She moved towards the couch and sat. 

Clark sat next to her and schooled his expression into one of attentive concern. "What is it?" 

"You can't tell anybody. Not Chloe, or your parents, or... anyone." 

"I promise." 

"Clark, I'm pregnant." 

If there had been anything Clark would have guessed Lana would say, that wouldn't have been in the top thousand possible things. "What?" 

Lana didn't reiterate. "It's Whitney's baby," she said, looking away. 

"Lana..." Clark stumbled to a halt. He honestly didn't have any idea of what to say. 

"What am I going to do, Clark? I can't have an abortion... that would be like Whitney dying twice. But Nell will be so upset, and Whitney's mom will make me stay here. I want more for myself and this..." She paused, putting her hand to a stomach that wasn't showing at all yet. "... This baby. I want more than running a department store in Smallville." 

Clark wanted to protest, but he knew that it was true. If Lana told people who the father was, she'd be stuck in Smallville forever, with Fordman's as her child's only legacy. Lana was strong; had proven that she was able to withstand parental pressure. But there was a child involved now. 

Lana turned panicked eyes on him. "Clark, you told Whitney you'd look after me. You promised him." 

"I did." Clark had a feeling he knew where this was going, and, like a runaway train, there was only one thing he could do to stop it. Before Lana could open her mouth, he said, "Lana, don't ask me... what I think you're gonna ask me." 

"I don't have anybody else. I can't tell people Whitney is the father, you know I can't." 

"I know that, Lana. But... I... I'm gay." There. It was out in the open. 

Lana looked poleaxed. "Wh... what?" 

"I'm in love with... someone. A guy. I can't do this to him." 

"You can explain. Clark, you know I wouldn't ask this if there were any other way. Maybe Lex would understand." 

Clark was surprised. "Lex? How..." 

At this, she smiled for the first time. "It's obvious, actually, now that I know. It's obvious just from the way you two look at each other." 

"Lana, I can't." 

"Please, Clark. Please. You can tell Lex everything. Just please, please help me. Help my baby." 

Clark felt like he had the day Lex's car had hit him on the bridge. Things had been inevitable then, too. 

* * *

Lex scooted away from Clark on his king-size bed and repeated what he'd just said. "You want to do WHAT?" 

"I have to help Lana, Lex. There's nobody else." 

"And I have to sit back and watch my lover be blamed for something he didn't do. Geez, didn't Lana and the quarterback ever hear of condoms?" He ran a hand over his head. 

"People make mistakes, Lex." 

"She can't have you, Clark." 

Clark sighed. He'd promised Whitney, and he had to keep the promise. How could he reconcile that with his love for Lex? "She won't have me, Lex. I promise you, I'll never be unfaithful to you. But I have to help Lana. I promised Whitney." 

"Are you ready for people to talk about you behind your back? To make remarks about not being able to keep it in your pants? To assume that you took advantage of Lana? To question your morals and breeding?" 

"It's the 21st century, Lex," Clark said. 

"It's still _Smallville_ ," Lex replied. "It's still the state of Kansas." 

"Lana and I are both sixteen." 

"Great. So you can marry her if you want to, but you still aren't allowed to fuck a guy no matter how old you are." 

Clark ignored the second part and focused on the first. "I could marry her?" 

Lex got up. "No, Clark." 

Clark got up as well. "It wouldn't be a real marriage..." he mused. 

Lex, still naked, pressed himself against his lover. "Don't do this." 

"I have no choice. You know that, Lex. It doesn't change anything between us." 

"You're in school." 

"We can take correspondence classes. Some other farm kids do. I could do more work around the farm, and ask for a small amount of the profit if we make more. It could work." 

Lex sat back on the bed. "You're really gonna do this." 

Clark looked his lover in the eye. "I have no choice." 

* * *

Clark debated with himself whether to tell his parents the truth about the baby or not. He debated a lot of things, but helping Lana was never in debate. When Clark showed up at Lana's place after waiting for Nell to leave, Lana wasn't expecting a proposal. 

"What?" 

"You could marry me. Then no one would question the... the baby. We can enroll at a correspondence school and finish high school that way. You'd have to live with me, though. My parents need me on the farm." 

"What about Lex?" 

This got a huge sigh. "It wouldn't be a real marriage, Lana. It can't be. I love Lex. And I know that I said I'd help you, but my relationship with Lex isn't negotiable." 

"Fair enough." Lana breathed deeply, then squared her shoulders. "All right, Clark. I'll marry you." 

* * *

It was decided to have a small wedding at the castle. Clark drew the line at a church wedding. That would be fraud, in his mind. Nell was shocked, but agreed to Clark's plan. Clark's parents were... well, Martha cried and Jonathan yelled until he was hoarse. Clark had to admit to his parents that it wasn't his baby. He knew they already suspected, what with him being an alien and everything, but trying to explain why he was doing this was an uphill battle. He settled for having to threaten to run away if they didn't agree. He might not have done it if it had been just him, but he would do it for Lana, and for Whitney. It was a tense couple of weeks. 

* * *

Lex stood in the main hallway of the mansion looking at the flowers and other decorations that Nell had arranged. He wanted to kill Lana. He wanted to kill the quarterback - well, that wasn't possible so he wanted to bring him back to life and kill him again. He wanted to hurt someone very badly. He was terrified of losing the one good person in his life - the one who made him happy, who accepted him for who he was. 

Lex looked up as Clark came down the stairs dressed in a suit complete with vest, cravat and cufflinks. "How do I look?" Clark asked. 

"Don't speak to me," Lex answered. 

"Lex..." 

"I'm only doing this to make you happy, Clark. Remember that." 

"I love you. That won't change." 

Lex looked around. They were alone. The decorators and caterer must be outside where the food was being set up. "You've wanted her since I've known you. Now she'll be your _wife_. Don't tell me things won't change." 

"I don't love her. Not like I love you." 

"Prove it." 

"How?" 

"Come upstairs with me right now." 

They had almost an hour until the ceremony, to be conducted by Pete's mother. Almost an hour. "All right," said Clark. 

Lex pulled Clark into his bedroom, slammed the door and locked it, pushing Clark face-first against the wall. "You're mine, Clark. Mine!" He pulled Clark's shirt from his pants, awkwardly unbuckling Clark's pants from the back, and pulling them down along with underwear. "I'm gonna fuck you, understand?" 

Lex kept up this running dialogue as he pulled his own cock from his pants. "I'm gonna make you remember who you belong to, even while you're marrying her." There was no preparation as Lex pushed inside his lover, but then Clark had never indicated that anal sex hurt him at all. He'd always beg for more when Lex did him this way. "You're gonna have my spunk inside you, Clark, to remind you." 

Clark groaned and pushed backwards as Lex began to thrust in and out quite brutally. "You hear me, Clark?" 

Clark just groaned. 

Lex slammed himself into Clark, trying desperately to imprint himself upon his lover. "You hear me?" 

"Y... yes, I hear you. Just don't stop. Oh, God, Lex. Fuck me!" Clark wasn't even touching himself; he knew he was going to come just from having Lex inside him this way. Clark slammed himself backwards onto Lex, and forward into the wall. It was so brutal, yet so _sexual_ , and he was unbelievably turned on by Lex's possessiveness. He wished they could stay like this forever: Lex inside him, Lex wanting him. 

Clark began to groan ever louder as he got closer. "Uh... uh... uh..." Lex clapped a hand over his mouth and kept moving, finally coming inside Clark with a pleasure that bordered on pain. 

Clark bit down on Lex's hand and came against the wall, sagging against it, his face still turned away. 

Lex looked at his hand. It was bleeding where Clark had bitten him, but not too badly. He'd just wrap it. Lex pushed away from Clark and went into his bathroom to clean his hand up. Clark turned around, then, and came to the door, watching him. 

"Sorry about the hand," he said as he looked into Lex's eyes in the mirror. He hadn't bothered to do up his pants; he'd just pulled them up. His shirt and vest were getting wrinkled from being rucked up around Clark's waist. Clark sighed. "I love you, Lex. That will never change." 

Lex finished with his hand and turned around, coming up to Clark and straightening his clothes, zipping up his pants and making him look presentable. "I believe that." He fixed his own clothes quickly. "I've arranged for the two of you to stay here tonight," he said, changing the subject. "Kind of a wedding present, so your parents can't even object." He smiled. "Hey, it's cheaper than a hotel, and has better service." He didn't mention the bonus of having to have his lover with him for the entire night, even if the town thought something quite different was going on. 

"Thanks, Lex," Clark replied as they left the room. 

* * *

Clark had Pete stand with him. He had really wanted to ask Lex, but he knew that was too much to ask of the man who loved him almost obsessively. It wasn't a real wedding, anyway, so it wasn't that important, but Pete had been happy. 

As they waited for Lana, who was being escorted by one of Whitney's football team members, Clark remembered bits of conversations he'd heard after the news had broken. 

"... Bet she's pregnant... getting married at their age... must have been cheating on Whitney... give it a year, tops... the football player's body is hardly even cold... moved in on her really quickly..." 

Clark couldn't blame the people of the town for what they thought. Some of it was even true. But of course their ideas of his or Lana's motivation for doing this were way, way off. 

Clark shifted nervously. He _could_ still feel Lex inside him. And he wished... he wished that he could have married Lex instead. He was imagining what their ceremony would be like when the music started, and Chloe walked down the red carpet carrying a small bouquet of pink roses. She was wearing the dress she'd worn to the Spring Formal, and it still looked good. 

Then came Brent and Lana. Lana looked like a lace factory had exploded on her, to be truthful. Nell hadn't been able to get her way regarding the size of the wedding or what the maid of honor should wear, but she must have picked out the dress. Clark bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. Most grooms, he figured, looked at their bride and saw a vision of loveliness. He saw a friend of his looking like she was wearing a cream cake. 

Brent presented Lana to Clark and moved away with a sharp look in Clark's direction. Ah. Another one who thought he'd moved in on Whitney's girl before the body was even cold. 

Judge Ross spoke for a minute on what marriage was, and then it was time for the vows. They'd written their own, because no way was Clark going to promise to "love, honor and cherish" when that would be a blatant lie. Lana looked up at him and promised to care for, honor and help him. Clark was relieved. He'd asked Lana not to mention love or faithfulness, and she hadn't. 

Clark had to clear his throat before he could speak, which got a laugh from the small audience. They were just lucky, he thought, that they didn't know the true reason for his nervousness. Clark swallowed hard, looked into Lana's eyes and promised to look after, care for and be a best friend to her. Their audience thought that was sweet, what with the "Aw" that went around, but five people there knew what it really meant. 

When it came time for rings, there was another difference. Lana got a gold band, but she put a pendant around Clark's neck. It was inscribed with an intertwined CK and LL. The witnesses again thought this was lovely, if a bit unusual. 

Judge Ross then pronounced them husband and wife and then came the obligatory kiss. Clark leaned down and kissed Lana very lightly, just enough to satisfy those watching. And the entire time, he wished he was kissing Lex instead. 

* * *

The party extended into the grounds of the mansion. Clark and Lana sat together, looking suitably happy. Lex wondered if he was the only one who noticed that Clark took Lana's champagne away before she could even have a sip, or that Lana ate two bites of her stuffed mushrooms and then ran inside towards the bathroom, only to emerge a few minutes later looking somewhat green. 

He was staring so hard at the happy couple that he didn't even notice Clark's father walk up next to him. "You know, don't you?" he asked without preamble, indicating Lana sitting next to Clark looking queasy. 

"About Lana? Yes." 

"You're in love with my son," Jonathan said next, and Lex almost choked; was sure he would have if he'd been eating or drinking anything at the time. 

"Mister Kent... what..." 

"I'm not an idiot, Lex. A hick from Smallville, maybe, but I'm not stupid." He paused. "You've been sleeping with him, haven't you?" 

Why couldn't he talk? Lex tried again. "Wh... what makes you say that?" 

"The two of you disappeared into your bedroom forty-five minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start. Your hand was fine then. You emerge less than twenty minutes later with your hand bandaged and Clark's suit is rumpled. You didn't have to draw me a picture." 

Lex checked to make sure no one was listening. "I love Clark, Mister Kent." 

Those blue eyes looked into his measuringly. "I'm sure you do, Lex. But you can't come between them." 

There was a rushing sound and then Clark was there, looking angry. "You have no right," Clark whispered to his father. Lex noted Lana looking on anxiously. 

"Clark - " 

"No, Dad. Lana and I just did this for the baby. You know that. Lex and I are still together. Look." Clark reached into his pocket and pulled out another, duplicate pendant, angling it so that only his father and Lex could see it. "This one is for him. The initials don't stand for Lana Lang." Clark squared his shoulders. "I was going to give it to him tonight. When we spent the whole night together for the first time." 

To his credit, Jonathan said nothing. He just swallowed a couple of times. 

"I love Lex, Dad. Nothing will change that." Clark walked off. 

Lex turned back to Jonathan, only to find Lana flanking him. 

"It's all right," Lana said. "Clark is doing me a favour. We're friends, and we always will be." 

Jonathan looked down at his daughter-in-law. "And it doesn't bother you that your husband is..." He swallowed again, as if the words were choking him. "... Sleeping with Lex Luthor?" 

Lana smiled. "Lex has been a good friend too. I needed friends after Whitney died." 

"I think Martha and I will call it a day," Jonathan responded, taking Lana's hand for a brief moment, then walking off. 

Lex turned to Lana. "You really are too good to be true." 

He got a glimpse of the sarcastic Lana, the one who'd made that crack about skinny-dipping and "the breast stroke" the first - okay, second - time he'd met her. She twinkled up at him and replied, "But you still ended up with the guy." 

They laughed, and that broke the tension that had been building all day. 

* * *

With Lana ensconced in a bedroom a good distance from Lex's, Clark returned to his lover. He was hardly in the room when Lex was in his face. "Okay, Kent, hand it over." 

Clark tried to look innocent. "What?" 

"The pendant." 

Clark took it out and placed it around Lex's neck. Lex held it up so he could take a good look at it. 

"It's beautiful, Clark." 

"It was Lana's idea. She knew we'd have to exchange something, and this way we could both have one. Your wearing a ring would look too obvious." 

"Clark, I... I love you. This thing you did for Lana... if you hadn't, it wouldn't be you. When you told me about it, I knew what you'd do. I love you for being who you are. Don't lose that, Clark. Don't ever lose that." 

Clark undressed himself at super-speed and attacked Lex's clothes that way as well. The next thing, Lex found himself on his bed, looking upwards as Clark leaned over him. "I love you, Lex," Clark said. 

"I'll never get tired of seeing you do that," Lex said. 

"And you accepted me for me, despite everything." 

"It sounds like a movie, doesn't it? 'My Lover Is An Alien'." Lex leaned up to kiss said alien. 

The kiss lengthened, Clark rubbing himself against Lex languidly. When it broke, Clark whispered, "I wanna make love to you." He pushed himself up, away from Lex's upper body so that he could look into his eyes. 

"Do it." Lex pulled his legs up, on each side of Clark, displaying himself and what he wanted. 

Clark zipped off the bed and returned with lube. "You want me?" 

Lex didn't reply, just pulled his legs up to show Clark that he did. Clark stretched Lex carefully, always mindful of his own strength. 

"Ready?" Clark slicked himself, leaning over Lex. 

"Just fuck me, Clark." 

Clark pressed forward slowly, until he was sheathed in Lex, in that slick, tight heat. He looked into Lex's eyes. "Okay?" 

Lex thought he might hyperventilate. "Yeah." 

And then Clark began to move, slowly at first and then with more purpose. Lex grasped his own penis and stroked himself even as he felt Clark within him. 

It was so, so good. They were connected in a way that went far beyond the physical, far beyond sex. 

Clark leaned down over Lex, tilting his hips up, folding Lex like a pretzel and clinking their pendants together. It was symbolic, yes, and when he moved away it changed the angle of penetration, and Lex cried out as Clark hit his prostate. "Oh God, Clark!" 

Clark did it again and again, fucking Lex the way he wanted. 

It was all Lex wanted, as he came suddenly, in two long and then three shorter spurts. "Aaah." 

Clark looked at the beauty that was his lover, thrust once more himself, and came, shoving hard into Lex a few more times and then stilling completely. He carefully withdrew, lying down next to Lex, sated. 

Lex turned and brushed Clark's sweaty hair off his forehead. "Some wedding night." 

Clark just smiled at him. "It was beautiful." 

They slept together the entire night, waking rather early the next morning so that they could make love once more before they had to go down and eat breakfast with the new Mrs. Kent. 

* * *

School had been going for three months, and Lana missed her friends. She'd continued to work at the Talon, though, until her sixth month, when her feet had started to swell up. The doctors hadn't found anything wrong, but they wanted her to stay off her feet. So Lana was doing some reading for her English course on the porch of the Kents' farmhouse. It was peaceful here, and she was happy, not seeing her friends notwithstanding. 

Clark came up to the porch from doing his chores. With Clark not spending time at school, they were actually able to make more money through increased productivity. Clark and Lana did not do their work together. It was felt that they'd end up with very similar answers to everything, and that it might look like cheating. Besides, Clark could do his schoolwork at superspeed to have more time to work on the farm. However, he did the same amount of work daily that Lana did. 

"Hey," Lana said as her - husband - came onto the porch. "Finished?" 

"For now, yeah." Clark sat down next to her. "You?" 

"Just doing the required reading. I already finished the Math and History." 

"Speaking of Math, there was one problem I had trouble with..." 

They were still discussing the problem when Lex drove up. 

Lex tried to see Clark every second day, but business had kept him away for three days and he had missed Clark terribly. Clark usually came to the mansion to see him, but he'd been in Metropolis this time. Thank heavens for telephones. 

"Hey, Clark, Lana." 

"Lex!" Clark came down the stairs at a run and enveloped him in a hug, kissing him thoroughly when he was done hugging him. "I missed you." 

"I missed you, too," Lex answered. 

"Ow." 

They both turned at Lana's exclamation. Clark was immediately at her side. "What is it?" 

"The baby's kicking. Feel." Lana took Clark's hand and placed it on her stomach even as Lex saw Clark concentrate in the way that meant he was using his x-ray vision. 

A huge smile broke over Clark's face, and he turned to his lover. "Come and feel, Lex. It's wonderful." 

Lex tried to back away. "Uh... no, that's okay..." But Clark grabbed his hand and literally yanked him forward. Lex put his hand tentatively on Lana's stomach. And he did feel the baby. It was... indescribable. Lex had never before felt "life" in this way. A smile broke out on his face, something he didn't realize until Lana and Clark both looked at him sappily. "What?" Lex took his hand away. 

"You liked that," Clark accused. 

"I..." Lex looked at Lana. How could he deny it? "Yeah. I did." 

"The baby's strong," Clark said. 

"Like his father," Lana said wistfully. 

"Yeah." Clark kissed Lana on the forehead. "Just like Whitney." Clark had known the sex of the baby for ages, since he'd been giving Lana surreptitious x-rays ever since he'd found out she was pregnant. But he hadn't said anything - scans had revealed the sex soon enough. 

Lana looked at the two of them and was glad that she'd never insisted that Clark be a 'real' husband to her. He would never have been this happy without Lex. It was a hard thing to admit, though, even to herself. She looked up at Clark. "Why don't the two of you go back to the mansion? I'll hold the fort here with your parents," she said to Clark. 

Clark looked undecided. "Are... are you sure?" 

Lana smiled her confident smile. "Of course I am. We'll be fine. You two go on." 

The lovers left, and Lana went back to her reading... but her mind drifted. She'd never really wanted to sleep with Whitney; she'd only done it as a sort of "going away" present. By the time Whitney had decided he wanted her, she'd decided she wanted Clark. But Clark and Lex had wanted each other... Falling pregnant had been so stupid. After lectures from Nell about safe sex; after health classes at school; after carrying a stupid egg around for a week... there had just been her and Whitney on that blanket on the grass, and it had been their only chance. So she had taken it, out of pity more than love. But despite her regrets about that, Lana really couldn't regret the baby. It meant that part of Whitney would live on, even if she, Lex, Clark and his parents were the only ones who knew the truth. 

* * *

Clark and Lex lay together in Lex's bed at the mansion. "I missed you," Lex whispered to his lover. 

"I missed you, too." 

"How's Lana holding up?" It had gotten easier over time to talk about Lana. Once Lex had realized that Clark would never, ever betray him, Lana just became another part of their lives, like Clark's parents or his own father. Lex seldom saw his father these days; his rebelliousness regarding the plant and how to run it had pushed his father away. Good. 

"She's getting uncomfortable now," Clark replied. "At night I hear her getting up because it's difficult to sleep. And she's in the bathroom every couple of hours. She's so frail, Lex." 

"She's small, I agree, but she's a tough little cookie," Lex answered. "She's a lot stronger than she looks." 

"I'm just worried. The baby is so big." 

"You been x-raying her again?" 

"I do it every day," Clark admitted. "You should have seen the baby at first. So _tiny_. And now he's huge. And there are still two months to go." 

"Women have been having babies for millennia, Clark," Lex laughed. "Lana will be fine." 

* * *

Lana was, indeed, fine. Labor was eighteen hours, and she had an epidural with a natural delivery. Clark and Lex talked her into the epidural. Why go through pain when you didn't have to? Clark was in the delivery room the whole time, while Lex waited outside with Clark's parents and Nell. Jonathan Kent clearly still didn't like him much, but they had learned to tolerate each other. Nell, who didn't know the situation, just glared at him as if he was using her niece's pregnancy for his own ends. Though they were business partners, Lex never spent time with Nell otherwise. She was a left-over from his father's world. 

They were sitting there when they heard a slight cry - could have been anything - but then two minutes later Clark poked his head out and said, "It's a boy. Seven pounds two ounces, and he's fine." 

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was a little longer before Clark came out, holding the baby boy in his arms. He was wrapped in a blue blanket and his eyes were open, but he didn't seem inclined to fuss. "Everyone," Clark said proudly, "I'd like to introduce you to Alexander Lang Kent." 

Lex almost fainted. He'd known that Clark and Lana had picked out a name, but he'd assumed they weren't telling anyone because they wanted it to be a surprise. Well, it had worked. He was shocked into silence. Clark approached him with the baby. 

"Lex." 

Lex was unable to do anything but numbly follow instructions as Clark put the baby into his arms, instructing him on how to support the head. And when Martha snapped a picture of him holding Lana's baby, Lex didn't even notice. 

* * *

Lana was back in her room and holding Alex (calling him "Lex" would, they'd decided, cause too much confusion, and calling him "Xander" would just make everyone think they watched too much Buffy) when everyone was allowed in. She just kept staring at the baby, and then at the people around her. "He's so beautiful," she kept saying. 

"And so tiny," added Clark. 

"You thought he was huge," Lex whispered into Clark's ear, and got an elbow in the ribs - gently - for his trouble. 

Clark had had to provide the information for the birth certificate. He'd very badly wanted to put "Whitney Fordman" under "father", but birth certificates could be accessed by the public, so he'd given his own name instead, apologizing to Whitney in his head the whole time. Three weeks before his seventeenth birthday, Clark Kent was officially a father. 

* * *

Lex insisted on getting a nanny for the first three months of the baby's life. Neither Martha nor Lana nor either of the Kent men had any experience with small babies, but Lex had read some books (without telling Clark) and knew how much work a small baby took. 

Lana was actually grateful for the help, and Clark gave Lex a special thank you by sucking him off in his office at the plant the day after the nanny arrived. Farmers needed their sleep, after all. The sleeping arrangements were explained by the fact that Clark needed his sleep because he worked so hard, both on the farm and on his schoolwork. Lana's pace of work slowed, but she still managed to get a little work done every day. As she explained to Clark and his parents, she needed something besides the baby or she'd go stir-crazy. 

But Lana loved the baby. She showed him off every chance she got, even though many people had done the math and knew she had been pregnant before the wedding. However, every time she saw Mrs. Fordman, Lana managed to be somewhere else. Others couldn't see it, because they assumed Clark was Alex's father, but Lana knew that he had Whitney's nose, chin and eyes. Luckily his hair, which started to appear only a week after the birth, wasn't blonde. That would have given it away completely. 

Chloe and Lana were sitting in the Talon one afternoon and Chloe was cooing at the baby. "He's beautiful, Lana." 

Lana smiled at the compliment. "Thank you." 

"He doesn't look anything like Clark, though," Chloe said. There was a long pause, and Chloe looked directly into Lana's eyes. "Does Clark know he's raising Whitney's baby?" 

"Chloe!" Lana almost jumped up. "Keep your voice down!" Luckily it was late afternoon and there were few people around. 

The intrepid reporter grinned. "Ha! I knew it!" She sobered. "Does he know?" 

Lana nodded. "Clark's been great. I asked him for help, and he offered to marry me. But Chloe, you can't tell anybody, okay? I don't want my child to grow up thinking he has some legacy to fulfill with the store. Look where it got Whitney. He joined the Marines to emulate his father, but he would've come back here to run the store. That's what his father did. I don't want my child trapped in that cycle, okay? Promise me you won't tell anyone. And I mean anyone!" 

Chloe nodded. "Okay, no problem. So... how does Lex fit into all this?" 

Alex started fussing then, and Lana quieted him before carefully replying. "Lex? He's been a great friend to Clark." 

"Is that why you named the baby after him?" 

"Yeah." Lana smiled. "It was my idea. Clark says Lex nearly fell over when he heard Alex's name." 

Chloe looked slightly distressed. "Lana, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but... I broke up with Clark when I went to the loft one day and found him and Lex kissing. Clark told me he was confused, but then he married you, so... I'm just saying, be careful of Lex." 

Lana squared her shoulders. "It's all right, Chloe. I know exactly what Lex's role in our lives is." 

"And?" 

"And he's Alex's godfather and Clark's best friend. And he's mine, too. Which infuriates my aunt." Lana laughed a little. "I think she was hoping Lex would fall in love with me and marry me. She wasn't very happy when I went to her and told her I was pregnant with Clark's baby and he wanted to marry me. But Clark's father talked her into it. I still don't know what he said, but it worked." 

"It's still going to be tough," Chloe pointed out. "You still have to finish high school, and then there's college." 

"Lex will help," said Lana confidently, knowing that through Clark her life was inexorably tied to that of Lex Luthor. Not that she minded; Clark was a great influence on him. Lex, happy, was a sight to behold. 

* * *

Alex Kent grew up to be a beautiful, polite little boy. The three figures in his life after his mother finished high school were his mother, Clark Kent, and Lex Luthor. Clark had completed an accelerated college degree and was working for the Daily Planet. He still couldn't believe that he'd ended up being an investigate reporter after all, even if it was just a junior one at this stage. Lana opened a second coffeehouse in Metropolis, based on the layout of the Talon, and it was doing modestly well. She just managed it and did the books, which left time for her to put into her child. Lex had formed LexCorp and was gradually building it into something great. 

Alex still saw his grandparents and Nell when his parents went home for weekends and holidays, and loved them all dearly. His hair had lightened as he grew, but it was still only a light brown. Lana hoped that it stayed that colour. She hated to think of dyeing the hair of a five year-old boy. Alex knew that Clark wasn't his "real" father, but he also knew that it was a secret. Lex was his "other father", and he was happy with this arrangement. To him, their strange living arrangement in Lex's penthouse in Metropolis was normal. His room was next to his mother's, then there was Clark's room, then Lex's. 

Alex Kent attended an exclusive playgroup in the city and learned about "normal" families, and brothers and sisters. To him, his family was normal. There was mommy and daddy and they were married, so that was fine. And there was Lex as a bonus. Lex loved him and tried to spoil him terribly, which he only managed to do when his parents weren't around. Alex had Lex wound around his little finger. But he didn't have any brothers or sisters. 

"Mommy," he asked one day at supper, "why don't I have any brothers or sisters?" 

Lana just looked at Clark helplessly. Clark answered as diplomatically as possible. "Well, you're special, son." 

"But I want a baby brother or sister." 

The three adults looked at each other across the table. There was no way they could explain their complex relationship to a five year-old. Finally Clark just said, "Maybe later, okay?" 

"Okay," said Alex, and continued chattering about his day. 

* * *

Two weeks later, Lana stood in front of a shocked Clark and Lex, who sat together on the couch in the den. "Lana," Lex pleaded, "please repeat that." 

"I said, I want to have another child." 

"No." This was Clark. "No, Lana. We don't even know if it's possible for me to have children. I'm so different from you..." 

"But on Krypton you'd be the same! No one had powers there, Clark. It's just the red sun yellow sun thing. So maybe your DNA is the same..." 

"No." Clark got up and left the room without another word. 

Lana looked at Lex. "Why do I feel I've missed something?" 

"We both have," Lex said. "Go and find out what's going on." 

"Me?" 

"It obviously has something to do with you or Clark wouldn't have left. Go and see what it is." 

Lana found Clark in the kitchen, eating ice-cream out of the tub. "Clark?" 

"Don't ask me, Lana. I can't do it." He tried to leave, but Lana blocked his way. 

"Look, it doesn't have to be difficult," she said. "We can take my temperature and find out exactly when I'm ovulating, and we can give it a try. I'm just asking for a night, or maybe more if it doesn't work the first time. I'm your wife, Clark. Please." 

"Maybe if we used insemination..." Clark mused. 

"No. I want my child conceived as an act of love, like Alex was." 

"I thought that was an act of pity," Clark threw back, immediately regretting it when Lana slapped him. Clark grabbed her hand. "You'll hurt yourself." 

"You just hurt me more. Clark, how could you say that? It was my gift to Whitney. It was stupid, but I wouldn't change it. Look at the beautiful child that came out of it." 

"I can't do it, Lana." 

Lana sighed. "All right. But you at least owe me the truth as to why. It's not some Superman-related thing, is it?" 

"No." Clark always tried to keep Superman away from his family. The so-called Man of Steel already took up so much of his time. Clark seated himself again. "Lana, you and I have never made love. When I was younger, before I met Lex, I fantasized about it. I wanted you so badly, and you only wanted Whitney. But Lex... Lex made me see who I really was. I've never had sex with anyone but him, and I never will have sex with anyone else. Not even you." 

"Not even for a baby?" 

"Look, Lana. If we did have sex, it would be a real marriage. Even now, after all this time, we could still get it annulled if we confess that we got married for other reasons and never slept together." 

"I don't want..." 

"I'm just saying," Clark continued. "Maybe someday you will meet someone else. But if we have sex, it's a real marriage, and we have to get a divorce. Which is fine, but if we had a real marriage, I'd be betraying you by sleeping with Lex. And I can't do that." 

"Clark..." 

"I could never do that to either of you." 

Lana sighed in defeat. "All right." 

* * *

But two nights later, Lana found herself in Lex's bedroom (it was actually Clark and Lex's - there was a door which connected the two rooms) with her second idea. 

"Lex can be the father." 

Lex dropped the book he'd been reading, and Clark sat bolt upright. "What?" 

"Lex, you can be the father. That way, it's still not a real marriage and Clark doesn't have to worry." 

"I can't..." Lex began, but Clark jumped in. 

"Actually, why not? You need an heir, Lex. You yourself said so. Your father has been nagging you for years to get married and have kids." Plus, the thought of having a child with Lex's blood was wonderful. He loved Lex. He wanted some part of Lex to continue. 

Lex got out of bed and looked down at his lover. "Clark, you can't be serious. You told me Lana wanted to do it the old-fashioned way." 

"You've slept with lots of other people before," Clark pointed out. "I think I can deal." 

Lex looked at Lana and then back at Clark. "But I've never betrayed what we have, Clark. You know I wouldn't." 

"This wouldn't be betraying us, Lex. It'd be helping out a friend. I told you why I can't do it, even if Kryptonians and humans were to be compatible. We can even tell people the truth this time. We can say Lana's having a baby for you so that you'll have an heir. They can think we used artificial insemination, even." 

Lex had to admit, it was a good argument. His father had been trying to get him to get married for years, had thrown heiress after heiress and even a couple of princesses at him. Lex thought his father probably suspected that he was gay, but had been too afraid to find out for sure. Oh, not afraid for Lex, but rather afraid of what that would say about him, Lionel Luthor, siring a faggot. This way, at least there would be an heir, and it might get his father off his back about the marriage thing. 

Lex took a deep breath. "Okay." 

Lana smiled and rushed forward, the thanks already bursting forth. 

Lex got out of bed and stopped her with a gesture. "Wait. Some ground rules. You find out your most fertile period _first_. Three months of testing. Then, when you're fertile, we do it once. If it doesn't work, I'm not doing it again. We can tell people the truth; we can let them think whatever you like, I don't care. If a baby results, it gets my surname. Okay?" 

Lana nodded vigorously. "Yes. Thank you." She left the room looking decidedly happier. 

Clark smiled as his lover got back in bed. "I want you to have an heir, Lex. A little you." 

"I just hope I do a better job than my father did," Lex replied. 

Clark leaned over and kissed him. "I'll help you." 

* * *

Four months after their conversation, Lana was in their bedroom in the early morning. "Oops, am I interrupting something?" 

Lex disentangled himself from Clark. "You know you're not. Aren't you the one who made us promise not to - how did you put it? 'Make like bunnies' these last three days?" 

"We just want your sperm count to be high," Lana laughed. 

"Yes, and thanks to that wonderful doctor you made me go to, we know they're alive and kicking, thank you." 

"That was for your own good, Lex," Clark chimed in. "To make doubly sure." 

Lex ran his hands over his head. "I swear, if this doesn't work it won't be because of a lack of effort on both your parts." 

"It'll work." Clark kissed him briefly before getting up, proving to Lana that they really hadn't been doing more than cuddling: he had boxers on. "I'll work late at the Planet tonight." 

The other two exchanged a look, and Lex indicated to Lana to speak. "Are you sure you want to do that? Wouldn't it be better if... you were here?" 

Clark shook his head. "No, Lana. Sex should be private. You know if I stayed here I'd be tempted to use my x-ray vision. And I would use it. No, it's better if I'm downtown, working." 

Lex and Lana both shrugged. "Okay," answered Lex, "but be back by 9.30. No flying around rescuing people. Not tonight." 

"Okay." 

* * *

"I'm so nervous," Lana admitted as she and Lex ate dinner together that night. 

Lex snorted. "Yeah, me too. I haven't made love to a woman for six years." 

Lana's eyes twinkled. "You think you might have forgotten how?" 

"Funny." 

"I'm just glad Alex had that sleepover." A long pause. "You arranged that, didn't you?" 

"Of course." Lex grinned. It was his shark grin. "I also had the parents and all the other invitees investigated." 

"Of course." Lana smiled, relaxing. 

They adjourned to the bedroom not long after that. Lana had had one small sip of wine; Lex had refrained. They stood together at the foot of Lana's bed and looked at each other. "Um, do we undress separately, or..." Lana began, but Lex was suddenly in her personal space, unbuttoning her blouse, his mouth close to her ear. 

"I'm curious, Lana. Why don't you tell me how it was with you and the quarterback?" 

Lana drew in a deep breath. "N... now?" 

Lex pulled her blouse out of her pants. "Of course now." 

"He... we..." It was getting hard to breathe. It had been so long. Lex was pulling her blouse off her shoulders... very slowly. "He had told me about j... joining the M... Marines..." Lex pulled the blouse down her arms and let it fall to the floor. "We were having... having this picnic, and he kissed me, and... and..." Lex had moved her bra strap aside and was kissing her shoulder. She hadn't expected this. "L... Lex, what are you... doing?" 

He moved back. "Trying to make it good for you. You want it to be good, don't you?" 

"I guess." 

"Then continue with the story." He moved the strap aside on her other shoulder and began to kiss that one as well. 

"He kissed me, and I looked... looked at him, and felt th... this huge emotion, and I k... kissed him back and t... told him I wanted to be with him. Th... that I wanted him... inside me." Lex undid the bra snaps, and the bra fell to the floor as well. Now, he was kissing her breasts, and it felt so good she could hardly talk at all. "Oh, God." 

Lex stopped long enough to whisper, "Carry on." 

"So we... we lay down right there... on the bl... blanket." Lex unbuttoned her pants and began to pull the zipper down, kissing her stomach as he did so. "But I was... was very nervous, so we... he just un... undid my clothes, and his pants, and I l... lay underneath him, and he... Oh God!" Lana cried out as Lex pulled both her pants and underwear down at once and slid a finger into her warmth. 

Since her eyes were closed, she couldn't see what he was doing, but it sounded like he was unbuttoning his shirt with one hand. The other... "He... he put himself... inside me, and it kinda hurt, but then it felt good... Oh, God, Lex." His finger was moving inside her insistently. "And... and it didn't, um, didn't take long, and he c... came, but I didn't... But he told me... told me he loved me, so I didn't care. Oh!" Lana threw her head back and came, holding Lex's shoulders for support. 

He maneuvered her onto the bed, then, and she heard him undress the rest of the way. Tentatively, Lana opened her eyes. She'd seen Lex in various states of undress over the years, but never naked. He was unbelievably slender, and yet had impressive musculature. No hair, but she'd known that. 

Lex crawled up over her, looking down at her with a tenderness she'd only ever seen when he was looking at Clark. "Last chance to back out, Lana." 

Lana smiled, content. "No. I want this. It'll work, I know it." She opened herself to him in welcome. And then he moved against her, and she reached down and guided him inside her. 

It was good... so much better than that time on the grass with Whitney. But she suspected Lex was good at everything he tried. And even though she had come already, she knew it would happen again if he didn't rush things. 

Lex had no intention of rushing. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to be inside slick, easy, welcoming warmth, to make love to someone with curves in different places. He wanted to ask if that was the end of Lana's story, but something told him not to talk, so he just thrust inside her slowly, carefully, gradually quickening the pace. 

That was it; that was what she needed. Lana moved her hips up, deepening the penetration, and wrapped her legs around him. Lex looked down at her, saw what she needed, and moved faster, feeling his climax approaching. Lana could feel hers, too, and just clung to him, wanting it all. 

There! Lex made a sort of strangled choking sound, and came, his movements slowing as he came back to earth. Lana moved her own hand in between their bodies, touched herself once, and came as well, never letting go. 

Lex lay on top of her, his face buried in her neck. So, so good. An almost forgotten pleasure, but not one he'd repeat. This had been exactly what Clark had said: helping out a friend. And she had enjoyed it, he knew she had. He was happy to have done it, but he knew he would never do it again. 

He moved to the side, withdrawing slowly and carefully. Lana moved onto her side and smiled. "Thank you." 

Lex smiled back, sincerely. "You're welcome." 

"Stay here with me, just for a little while." 

Lex understood the need to cuddle, and didn't deny her. "All right." He yanked Lana's bedcover from the sides of the bed over the two of them, and closed his eyes. Just for a minute. 

* * *

Clark had managed to finish an entire article he'd been working on for the Daily Planet. It wasn't earth-shattering stuff, but he hoped it wouldn't be buried in the middle of the paper with all the other inconsequential news. His fellow junior reporter, Lois, had even given him a grudging word or two of approval. He felt good. 

Clark changed into his costume and flew home, but true to his word he didn't go looking for people to rescue this time. He did get a cat out of a tree, though. He wondered if that counted. 

When he was finally back at the penthouse, Clark changed clothes and went inside. Unable to resist, he used his x-ray vision as soon as he was able. In Lana's room were two skeletons of people, spooned up together. The vision adjusted, and he saw them properly: Lex and Lana, asleep in a cocoon of bedspread. Clark didn't know whether to smile (at the cuteness of it) or frown (at the fact that they weren't even under the covers). He settled for opening the door quietly and stepping up to Lex's side of the bed. 

"Lex..." he whispered. 

"Um." Lex swallowed, licked his lips and opened his eyes. "Clark? What time..." The situation dawned on him. "Oh!" He sat up, dislodging the cover from himself only, luckily. 

"It's 9.45," Clark said. 

"Clark?" That was Lana. 

"Ssh. Go back to sleep," Clark said, as Lex got off the bed. Clark threw the rest of the spread over her. "Don't get up, okay? For best results," he quipped. 

Lana, still half asleep, just mumbled, "'Kay," and turned over. 

Clark and Lex tiptoed out of the room. 

In the sitting room, Clark poured himself and Lex both a strong drink. Lex had put his underwear back on, but not bothered with any of his other clothing. "So it went okay?" 

"It went okay," Lex agreed. 

"Good?" 

"Clark!" 

"Oh, come on, I'm curious. I never got to sleep with Lana." 

"Do you know, when she was with the quarterback, she never had an orgasm?" Lex shook his head, as if disgusted with Whitney. 

"He's dead, Lex. Let him go. It was nearly six years ago." 

"How could he not want her to have as much pleasure as possible? She deserves it, you know?" 

"I know," Clark agreed. "I keep hoping she'll find someone... but she says she wants Alex to be older before she starts 'looking seriously'." He paused. "Did you make sure she had the pleasure she deserved?" 

Lex smiled, but it was wistful this time, not cocky. "You know I did, Clark." 

"I hope it works." 

"We all did our best," Lex replied. "Go to the bedroom; I'll take a shower and join you." 

They cuddled in bed together that night, hoping for their plan to have worked. 

* * *

Lana came to the dining room the next morning to find Clark and Lex there already. This wasn't unusual, but they were often nearly finished eating by the time she came in. This time, it seemed they had been waiting for her. 

"Hey." 

"Morning." That was Lex. 

"Hey." Clark. 

There was a slight pause as Lana got herself some breakfast and sat down opposite them. "What time do I have to pick Alex up?" 

"I think ten, something like that," Clark said. 

"I'll call and check." It wasn't quite tension, but it wasn't quite normal for them, either. 

Clark broke the almost-tension by asking what was on all their minds: "So, when will we know if it worked?" 

Lana smiled. "These days, pretty quickly. I'll wait two weeks and get a test." 

"Those can be wrong," pointed out Lex. Two heads turned towards him. "What?" he asked. "I can't do research now?" 

They all laughed, and everything was back to normal. Lana elaborated, "I'll go see the doctor after a month, okay?" 

"Okay." 

* * *

The test turned out to be positive, of course. Apparently Lex's boys were good swimmers. At least, that's how the doctor put it when Lana informed him that this wasn't her husband's baby, that they were having it for a friend and had used artificial insemination. The doctor tactfully suggested counseling. "Sometimes a surrogate mother gets too attached to the child and has trouble giving it up." 

Clark and Lana just looked at each other. "We're not giving the baby up," Clark said. "We've made living arrangements so that he or she can be with both parents." 

"Who is the father, if I may ask?" 

"We'd rather not say," Clark answered. "Privacy issues." 

On the way out of the building, Clark remarked, "You've never said anything about that night." 

"I didn't think you'd want to know, Clark." 

"I... I don't, really. Just... was it good? I hope it was more than just a business transaction, you know?" 

Lana smiled. "It was wonderful, Clark. You're so lucky. I'm glad this baby was conceived that way. Planned and wanted, you know?" 

"Yeah." They exited the building and, instead of getting a taxi, began to walk to Lana's coffee shop. Clark suddenly felt the need to make a confession. "Lana, please realize that I wanted to make love to you. I mean, I thought about it for more than five years, when I was in high school. But I just couldn't. I couldn't betray what I have with Lex." 

"It's all right, Clark," Lana said. "I understand. I've seen you two together, remember? Love like that is rare." 

"But what about you?" 

"Me? I... thought I loved Whitney, once. Then I thought I loved you. I mean, I do love you, Clark. But this love comes from six years of you being there for me. I... could want you, now, but I know you'll never want me, not in the way you want Lex. So, after this baby is a few years old, I will think about finding someone." 

"We all need someone, Lana." 

"I know, Clark." 

* * *

Clark continued to x-ray Lana daily, but this time he gave Lex reports on how big the baby was, its heart rate, things like that. He wouldn't tell either of them what sex the baby was. They'd have to wait for the scan. 

Lana, too, was different this time. When the baby kicked, Lex was the first person she called to come and feel it. Lex, for his part, was still having trouble processing the fact that he was actually going to be a father. Somehow, he'd always thought it would never happen. 

And Alex was thrilled that he was going to have a baby sister. He blurted out the news one day after having accompanied his mother and nanny to the doctor. Lex had just returned from an overseas business trip, and Clark was out being Superman, after a devastating monsoon in south-east Asia. The doctor had finally managed to get a look, and announced that it was a girl. 

"I'm gonna have a sister!" he said happily as Lex picked him up to avoid being run over by the small dynamo. 

"Really, champ?" 

"Uh-huh. The doctor let me see what the baby looks like inside Mommy." 

Lex hadn't heard about the monsoon yet. "And what did Daddy say?" 

"Daddy was - " Here Alex lowered his voice because Daddy's activities were a _secret_. "Daddy was out 'helping'." 

"Where?" 

Lana came out just as Lex put Alex on the floor again. "Somewhere in south-east Asia, I think. I saw it on the news. Terrible devastation. And Lois called here twice asking where Clark was. Apparently they've been bumped up a few notches, kind of a promotion, and Perry White wants them to cover the aftermath." 

Lex was glad about that; it was time Clark received some professional recognition. But still... "They want Clark to leave the country when his wife is six months pregnant?" 

This just got him a sharp look. "He's out of the country now." 

"Yeah, but he could get back in five minutes. If he goes as himself, he'll only be back in fifteen, twenty hours. What if something happens?" 

"You're here, aren't you?" Lana asked, pulling Lex's hand to her tummy as their daughter kicked. 

Lex couldn't help grinning at that. "Yeah, I guess I am." 

"I love you guys," Lana said seriously. 

"And me?" piped up a small voice. 

"Of course, you!" Lana said, kneeling down and hugging her son. 

* * *

In the end, Clark was forced to plead family responsibilities when Lana got some pains and panicked the both of them. Lois went to south-east Asia on her own and wrote three dynamite articles for the Planet. Clark helped out with research, but did not get his name on the byline. Not that he cared; he was too relieved that Lana was all right. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong, and told Lana the same thing that the doctor in Smallville had: to stay off her feet. Lex, never one to do things by halves, hired a full-time nurse, just in case. 

* * *

"You are not naming any child of mine Alexis!" Lana said to Lex as Clark looked on. 

"I think it works," Clark said. 

"It's too close to Alex. She should have her own name." 

"But it was you who decided to name Alex 'Alexander'," Clark put in. "You wanted him named after Lex." 

"Yeah, and I was named after Alexander the Great," Lex said. 

"Time to put a stop to that tradition then," Lana said. 

"Didn't Alexander have, like, a wife we could name her after?" Clark asked. 

"Alexander the Great was gay, Clark." He smiled as Clark ducked his head, not having considered that. "And besides, I think we should leave the Greeks out of this." 

"What about your mother, then?" Lana asked. 

"No." 

"Why not?" 

"It's too painful. Just... no." 

Clark looked up. "What about my mother?" 

"Martha?" 

"No, actually I was thinking of my biological mother. Lara." 

"That will just get people thinking we're obsessed with  Dr. Zhivago," Lana pointed out. "Plus, it's too similar to my name. I'd rather give her a name of her own." 

"We'll keep thinking, okay?" Clark said, hugging Lex. 

"Okay," Lex and Lana replied together. 

* * *

When Lana finally went into labor after 39 weeks, all four of them were greatly relieved. Clark wanted to fly to Smallville and get his parents, but Lex pointed out that Nell would still have to drive because she didn't know about him, so Lex sent a helicopter for the three of them. Alex would have to stay with the nanny, something he wasn't too pleased about. 

Lana wasn't quite ready to give birth when they got there, but she had already started blaming Lex for everything. Clark waited outside this time. It was only right that Lex see his daughter's birth. 

When they'd checked in, the doctors had stated that only Lana's husband could go into the delivery room. 

"But I'm not the father," Clark had said, annoyed. 

"You want the father to be in there?" 

"Yes." 

"I don't think..." 

Lex, bringing up the rear, had interrupted. "This is my baby, and we've all agreed on how it will work. Don't be difficult, please." 

"Mister Luthor!" The doctors had recognized him right away. "Of course, you may go into the delivery room." 

"Thank you." 

Which explained why Lana was blaming him for everything now. Lex went outside for a minute. "Did she yell at you and scream that you'd done this?" Lex asked Clark. 

Clark smiled. "Not really. She made several remarks about Whitney, though." He smirked. There were very few situations Lex couldn't handle with reason and a well-placed snarky comment or two, but this was one of them. Women in labor generally don't respond to reason. 

"Do you want to see her?" Lex asked. 

"Yeah." Clark went into the room. "Lana?" 

"Clark! I want to go home." 

Clark took her hand. "You can't go home yet, Lana. There's still a baby in there." 

"I'd forgotten what it was like. What was I thinking? I hate men." 

"No, you don't. Just hang in there. It'll be over soon." 

"They keep saying that!" Lana yelled. "Please, make it stop!" 

"Lana..." Clark began, but Martha popped her head round the door. "Clark? Let Lex come in now. Lois is here." 

Clark kissed Lana's forehead and left the room, his hand squeezing Lex's as they passed each other. Right now, Clark wanted nothing more than to put his arms around Lex and never let go. But they both had responsibilities. 

"Lois? What are you doing here?" Clark asked, cautiously. 

"Is the grapevine true?" Lois demanded without preamble. "Your wife is having Lex Luthor's _baby_?" 

Clark exchanged looks with his parents and Nell. "Yeah." 

"And you haven't divorced her yet?" 

Oh. Clark smiled, then. "No, of course not, Lois. It was her idea. Lex is a friend of ours, and we felt he should have an heir." 

"Oh. So you used a turkey baster, eh?" 

Clark frowned. "It was all very scientific. No turkey basters." 

"This is my story, understand, Kent?" 

"Story?" 

"Yeah, Clark Kent's wife bears Lex Luthor's lovechild!" 

"Use that headline, and I'll sue," Clark said menacingly. It was a tone he'd never used with Lois before. He seldom used it at all - mainly with criminals who didn't seem to realize that tangling with Superman was a bad idea. But even while Clark was threatening to sue, he knew that the papers wouldn't sit on the story. It would be out there, as they had all known it would be, and if they didn't explain, then the papers would make stuff up. They'd just banked on having more time. Clark guessed that someone at the front desk must have called the papers after they'd checked in. 

"Come on, Smallville! Give me the story." 

Clark had been thinking of giving Lois an exclusive on 'Superman'. She had named him, and he'd given her a quote or two, but he'd been waiting for a sign that he should do it. Well, if she handled this story sensitively, the Man of Steel (geez, he hated that) would let her talk to him. Clark sighed and looked down at his sometime-partner. "All right, Lois. But I decide what goes in the story and what doesn't." He put up a hand to forestall her. "Within reason." 

"Great!" Lois extracted a tape recorder from her bag. "So, spill. How do the two of you know Lex Luthor?" 

"Not now," Clark said. "After the baby is born, Lex and I will talk to you at... Lex's place." Clark's only 'official' address was a P.O. box in downtown Metropolis; the less people who knew he lived in the LuthorCorp penthouse, the better. 

Lois smiled affably at this, and left. Clark shook his head. He'd never understand her, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They got on well as colleagues because of it. 

A couple of hours passed, and then Lex came out of the room looking... flushed. Clark had seen Lex flushed very often, but only in the bedroom. Outside of it he was always cool and calm. Everyone immediately rushed to him. 

Lex actually _grinned_. "A girl, six pounds five ounces." 

In amongst Martha and Nell hugging him, and Jonathan gruffly congratulating him, Lex saw Clark nod and slip into the room. 

"How's my wife?" Clark asked the doctor. 

"Exhausted," the doctor responded. And Lana was kind of out of it. The male nurse finished cleaning the baby, and brought her forward. 

Clark looked through the door, where Lex was still being hugged by the women. He looked back at the nurse. "Could I hold her?" 

The nurse waited for a confirming nod from the doctor, then handed the baby over. Clark looked down at her little face. She had Lex's jaw, forehead and eyes, but Lana's nose and cheekbones. She was beautiful. As he stared at this tiny thing, Lex came back in. "She's beautiful, Lex." 

"Yeah." Lex smiled down at her. 

Clark handed her to him. "Go and show the relatives," he said. As Lex went to show off the baby, Clark went over to Lana and kissed her on the head. "Well done," he said. 

Clark heard a soft, "Thanks, Clark," as he exited the room on the doctor's orders. 

* * *

Jonathan and Martha decided to go back to the hotel; Nell would be going to Lionel's penthouse in another LuthorCorp building. Clark and Lex sat down outside Lana's room now that she was asleep and just looked at each other. 

Eventually, Lex spoke. "I can't believe that's my child in there, Clark." 

"I know. Amazing, isn't it?" 

"It's as close as I could get to having a baby with you." 

Clark was startled; he hadn't known Lex felt that way. "She belongs to all of us," he said. 

Lex looked at him dead-on. "I love you, Clark." 

Clark just smiled. "I love you, too, Lex." 

"I'm glad you talked me into this. Lana's a good mother." 

"You'll be a good father, Lex." 

Lex smiled self-deprecatingly. "At least she's a girl. I won't have to worry that I'll turn into my father. Plus, I have you for a role-model. You've been a great father to Alex." 

"You've been there, too," Clark pointed out. 

"He's a cute kid," Lex said. "But he's not going anywhere near a football." 

Clark laughed. "Isn't that for me and Lana to decide?" 

"There's more to life than being a quarterback," Lex said. 

Clark looked around, then leaned forward and kissed his lover. "Yes, there is." 

Lex pulled back. "I want you, Clark. I want you to make love to me, okay?" 

"Here?" 

"Yeah." Lex grabbed Clark's hand. "There's a supply closet down here." 

Clark laughed happily and followed Lex. 

When no one was looking, Lex pulled Clark inside. "I want you," he said between kisses as he undid his shirt and pants. 

Clark did the same, only letting go long enough to get his clothes open. "We don't have any - " 

"Here." Lex handed him a tube. 

"You've been carrying this around in your _pocket_?" 

"Hope springs eternal," Lex shrugged. 

They made love in the closet, in a way reminiscent of that time on Clark's wedding day six years before. Only this time Lex was the one facing the wall with his lover pounding into him from behind. Clark's hands held Lex's to the wall, forcing him to just stand there and _feel_ what was happening. 

And it felt great. Lex felt owned, possessed, loved. And, much as Clark had all those years ago, he came against the wall as soon as he felt his lover coming inside him. It was perfect. 

* * *

Lex didn't want pictures, but photographers surrounded the hospital as they left. All they really got pictures of was a tiny little bit of head surrounded by a blanket, and even that bit was usually obscured as both Clark and Lex protected Lana and the baby from the photographers. Martha followed behind holding Alex's hand, Nell had Lana's vanity case, and Jonathan had brought the car. He had insisted that the baby be allowed to live as normally as possible. It wasn't going to be easy. 

Clark talked Lex into allowing Jimmy Olsen to take some pictures when Lois arrived for the interview. Lex, being Lex (i.e., stubborn), insisted that both Clark and Alex be in the pictures with himself, the baby and Lana. And Jimmy, being very young and intimidated by this rich, powerful man, didn't really argue. Clark didn't care one way or the other, but Alex was thrilled at being included, and Jimmy even snapped an adorable picture of Alex on the sofa holding his sister. 

"So, did you name her yet? There's a betting pool going at the Planet," Lois said. 

"Oh, really?" Clark asked. 

"You don't get to bet, Smallville." 

"And?" 

"Most of the money is on Lillian, since it's your mother's name, Lex. There's also quite a lot on Laura, for Lana's mother." 

"And Martha?" 

"You named her Martha?!" Lois exclaimed, surprised. 

"No, I just want to know if anybody put money on it." 

"No, I don't think so." 

"Hm." 

Lana finally spoke. "We named her after a friend of ours. I think you know her. She was my maid of honor at my wedding?" 

"Chloe? You named your kid Chloe?!" 

"Yes. Chloe Lillian Luthor." It had just come to Lana one night after much thinking. She liked the double 'L', but none of the names starting with 'L' really grabbed her. Chloe had the 'L' sound as Alex did, but it wasn't too prominent. It had a connection with a friend, but it wasn't a family name. She'd be able to grow into it. Clark and Lex had liked it, too, and when they'd called Chloe at the Planet offices in London, she'd been thrilled. 

"So, let's get down to business," Lois said. "Whose idea was this?" 

The interview went on for a couple of hours, but Clark felt that it would result in a positive article. The ones which had come out so far had only been filled with speculation. 

* * *

**LEX LUTHOR SHOWS OFF NEWBORN DAUGHTER**  
By Lois Lane  
Photographs by James Olsen 

Lex Luthor, millionaire businessman and son of magnate Lionel Luthor, and Lana Lang Kent, originally of Smallville, Kansas, introduced the world to their daughter, Chloe Lillian Luthor, yesterday. 

In an unprecedented move, Mr. Luthor agreed to be interviewed on the subject of his daughter with Mrs. Kent. "I want people to know the truth instead of having to speculate," said Luthor, 28. "It's true that Lana is married, but it was her idea. She and her husband talked me into it." 

The husband of whom Luthor speaks is Clark Kent, also originally of Smallville, and a fellow employee of the Daily Planet. The two men met seven years ago when Luthor accidentally drove his car off a bridge and was saved by Kent, then almost 16. "Clark saved my life," Luthor says. "We've been friends ever since." 

"I wanted another baby," Mrs. Kent reveals. The Kents have a son of their own, Alexander Lang Kent, now six. "But Clark didn't. Then I thought about Lex and the fact that he needed an heir. It seemed natural to me to marry the two ideas." And her husband? "Clark agreed that it was a good idea, and he actually helped me present my case to Lex." 

The baby was conceived using artificial insemination, with Luthor as the donor. "It only took one attempt," Kent, 22, reveals. "Lana, Lex and I were completely scientific about it, and I guess all our math paid off." 

Kent is sitting with his son, called Alex, on his lap. Was Alex named after Lex Luthor? "Of course," he says. "It was Lana's idea. Lex supported us all the way through, from the wedding to Lana's pregnancy to the handling of Alex. He's the best friend someone could have." 

Luthor looks extremely satisfied at being a father. "We knew it was a girl," he says. "And I'm crazy about her. Isn't she gorgeous?" 

There are no plans to treat this child any differently from the Kents' other child. The Kents plan to move into Luthor's penthouse, but Chloe Luthor will attend the same public kindergarten and school that her brother does, and Mrs. Kent is adamant that she will not be spoiled. "Love is the key here," she says. "If a child has love, possessions aren't important." 

So the rumors about a possible affair between Lex Luthor and Mrs. Kent aren't true? "Definitely not," says Clark Kent. "Everything that happened was planned for, to the last detail." 

And how does the second-youngest member of this unusual family feel about all this? "I like having a baby sister," enthuses Alex Kent. "It's so cool." 

* * *

Everyone who read the article was satisfied with it, including Clark's father. The picture that accompanied it showed Clark, Lex, Lana and Alex on the sofa in Lex's penthouse, with Alex holding the baby. The caption read, "Alexander Kent, son of Clark and Lana Kent (right), holds his half-sister, Chloe, daughter of Lana Kent and Lex Luthor (left)." 

* * *

Clark came home quite late one night - he'd stopped a plane from crashing - to find Lex sitting on the sofa holding Chloe. He was just looking at her and stroking her head, as if he still could not believe that she existed, and was his. 

"Clark!" Lex looked up when he heard his lover and smiled. Clark hadn't bothered to change into civilian clothes yet. Lex had never told Clark that the Superman costume turned him on - Superman was a necessity in their lives, but he loved Clark for himself. 

"Hey, Lex. I'll just go change," Clark said as he saw Lex's eyes on the huge 'S'-shaped sign on his chest. Everyone thought it stood for 'Superman', and only his immediate family knew the truth. Still, Clark had always thought that Lex disliked the costume and the person he was forced to pretend to be while he wore it. 

"No." Lex got up. "Here." He placed Chloe into Clark's arms, moving the cape around her so that she was wrapped up in it. Clark just looked at Lex quizzically as Lex fetched his digital camera. 

"Okay, Clark, gives us the Superman smile," Lex said as he snapped a couple of pictures. Chloe had drifted off while Clark was holding her, so he tiptoed into Lana's room and put her in the crib. Lana, who was watching TV softly, just smiled. 

When Clark came back into the living room, he was feeling a bit confused. "What was that about?" 

"Come on, Clark, every child needs a picture of themselves with the Man of Steel." 

"There's more to it than it," Clark said with certainty. "You always acted like you hated the costume before." 

"I was afraid," his lover admitted. "The world loves you. You're famous, and so damn _good_. I thought..." He trailed off. "I don't really know what I thought, Clark. I just knew I couldn't lose you, and if you somehow became more Superman than Clark, I might have." 

"Superman is just a disguise, Lex, you know that. I love _you_. And I know you love me for myself." Clark continued to stand in the middle of the room, enjoying how Lex was looking at him. 

"Yeah." Lex allowed himself a lecherous leer. "You know, you do look damn sexy in that suit. No wonder your fan club has over ten thousand female fans." 

"Twelve thousand," Clark said. "As of last week." 

They looked at each other and started laughing. 

"I wonder what the world would say if they knew that Superman was married. Or better yet, had a son." 

"Or even better, was gay!" Clark put in. "Devastation all around." 

"But none of them would have had a chance with you anyway, so what difference does it make?" Lex asked. 

"I don't know," Clark replied. "It shouldn't make any difference at all." He paused. "Those people out there... I have to help them when they need it, Lex, but this... " He indicated the penthouse and all its occupants. "This is my family. You, Lana, Alex, Chloe. You're my family. You mean everything to me." 

"Make love to me, Clark. On the cape." 

Clark smiled his megawatt smile. "Ooh, kinky." 

* * *

It felt strange to be removing the suit instead of Clark's civilian attire of suit and tie, or flannel and jeans. It felt almost blasphemous to be taking Superman out of his costume. But then, he wasn't. He was removing a disguise. It wasn't Superman he was removing the costume from, it was Clark. The man he loved. His lover, who turned and spread the cape over the bed, smiling mischievously. 

Lex reached up to tangle his hands in Clark's hair. "I love you," he said. 

There was a blur and a slightly weird sensation on his skin, and then Lex was naked. Clark moved at superspeed again, and had Lex spread out on the cape, face-down. "You want me?" 

"You know I do, Clark," he responded. 

"Say it." 

"I want you." 

Rushing sound, slick sensation, and then Clark's cock breached him, and his lover lay carefully on top of him, pushing him into the soft mattress, his face buried in a sea of red. 

The cape smelled of Clark. Lex clenched his hands in the material as Clark lifted up and began to move inside him. "Family," Clark panted as he made love to Lex. "It starts here, with us. Always us." 

"Yes, yes," Lex agreed incoherently. 

"Us... together..." Clark said, getting close to the peak. 

"Uhm," was all Lex was able to get out. His own manhood was rubbing against the cape in a delicious manner, and he knew that this, plus the sensation of Clark inside him, would be enough to take him over the edge. He was nearly there already. 

"Lex..." Clark managed to get out. "Lex!" And then he came, filling his lover, feeling himself filled with the love that Lex bore him. 

"Clark!" Lex tensed up as he felt Clark's seed, and then he too was coming, all over the Superman cape, feeling the love that Clark had for him. 

Clark collapsed on top of Lex, pushing him back down into the folds of the cape. Lex turned his head at the last second so that he could breathe. They lay there together for a while, sleep almost claiming them. 

Eventually, Clark had to move. He withdrew slowly, smiling sleepily at Lex's sigh of loss as their bodies lost that connection. He lay there next to Lex and pulled the cape around them. 

Lex stirred. "If that's what's gonna happen every time you come home wearing the suit, I think you should do it more often," he said, a smirk in his voice. 

"Maybe I will," Clark replied. 

They drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, wrapped in the one thing that could have had the power to separate them. But Lex embraced all aspects of his lover, aspects that included a wife, another man's child, all manner of superpowers, a blue suit, a cape... and the love he knew Clark had for him. 

Lex snuggled further into the cape. 

This was how it should be. It was right. 

**THE END**


End file.
